Has cable host Laura Ingraham been fired? Fox News, in a statement emailed to Heavy on May 17, 2023, denied that Ingraham had been fired, saying that Ingraham “now and will continue to be a prominent host and integral part of the FOX News lineup.”
“Reports based on various tweets by left wing activists are wildly inaccurate – Laura Ingraham, the top-rated woman in cable news, is now and will continue to be a prominent host and integral part of the FOX News lineup,” Jessica Jensen Ketner, senior director of media relations for Fox News, told Heavy in an email.
Asked whether it was true that Ingraham would not be in a prime-time slot anymore, Ketner’s email said: “No decision has been made on a new primetime line-up and there are multiple scenarios under consideration.” She said the statements should be attributed to a Fox News spokesperson.
The Drudge Report ignited a “Laura Ingraham fired” Twitter trend with the blaring headline, “HANNITY FOXNEWS SHOWCASE; MOVES TO 8 PM” with the subhead “WATTERS, GUTFELD GET PRIMETIME.”
Drudge wrote: “FOXNEWS preparing to announce ambitious new schedule, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned, a schedule where every hour of primetime will change! TOP SOURCE: ‘IT’S OUR BOLDEST AND MOST FEARLESS LINE-UP EVER’…”
Drudge linked to a story by Daily Variety. That story reported that Fox News is considering “multiple scenarios” for “its primetime lineup after the ouster of Tucker Carlson.” However, it also reported that Fox News is denying that a new lineup has been determined.
Despite the pushback from Fox, many people on Twitter posted about Ingraham.
I am hearing Laura Ingraham was just fired from Fox News not verified yet but this is crazy.
Here’s what you need to know:
Fox News Says ‘No Decision Has Been Made on a New Prime-time Lineup’
GettyPolitical talk radio host Laura Ingraham delivers a speech at the Republican National Convention on July 20, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Daily Variety also reported that Fox News declined to confirm Drudge’s specific claim that Hannity will move into the 8 p.m. slot that used to be occupied by conservative commentator Tucker Carlson.
“No decision has been made on a new primetime line-up and there are multiple scenarios under consideration,” Fox News said in a statement to Daily Variety on May 17, 2023.
Daily Variety noted that if Drudge’s report is true, “there would also be a question about Laura Ingraham, who has led Fox’s 10 p.m. hour since launching her program, ‘The Ingraham Angle,’ in the fall of 2017.”
Heavy had contacted Fox News’ public relations staff and asked whether Ingraham has been fired, whether she had been cut out of a new prime-time lineup, and what time her show would air if she was not fired. Fox’s statement did not specify whether Ingraham’s show will be moving to a less prominent time slot.
Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch Previously Said There Would Be ‘No Change to Our Programming Strategy’
GettyTucker Carlson.
On May 9, 2023, the Daily Beast reported that Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch “suggested during a Tuesday earnings call that Fox News would not be shaking up its primetime lineup” in the wake of Carlson’s firing.
“There’s no change to our programming strategy at Fox News,” Murdoch said at that time, according to Daily Beast. “It’s obviously a successful strategy, and as always, we are adjusting our programming and our lineup and that’s what we continue to do.”
Daily Beast reported that Fox News’ ratings, especially during its primetime period, dropped sharply after Carlson was fired. According to Mediaite, the network is particularly struggling with the major 25-54 demographic in its prime-time slots, and was beaten by MSNBC in that demographic and in “total viewers” on May 15, 2023.
Ingraham was tweeting news stories as always on May 17, 2023, including, “IRS removes investigative team from Hunter Biden probe: Report.”
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